Interview with Carolyn Raymond

Dr Carolyn Raymond is an Associate Professor in Plant Science at Southern Cross University, NSW, and a long time user of Gemview. We asked Dr Raymond if she would share some of her thoughts on using the Gemview software. Here is what she said:

Dr Raymond, may I ask you about your general experience using Gemnetics’ Gemview software in your own tree breeding work?

“I have used Gemview for many years and for a range of reasons and have found it to be easy to use and very flexible in terms of what data can be stored.  Gemview can store large amounts of data from field trials and easily accommodates both continuous and categorical data and each measured variable is clearly defined.  Data from multiple and/or repeated measurements for of a range of traits can easily be collated and extracted.  The database makes it easy to determine which trials were planted in any specific year or where particular genotypes have been planted.  Linking trial IDs to their GPS co-ordinates also enables trials locations to be easily plotted on the landscape.”

Are there any features of Gemview that you especially like?

“The ability to store and easily access a master pedigree file is one of the features I especially like.  This makes it easy to identify the ancestors for any specific genotype and also the program will automatically build a complete pedigree files with the full ancestry of each trial entry so that a relationship matrix can be included in the data analyses.  When making selections from a trial for inclusion in the next stage of breeding or for deployment, the pedigree file makes it easy to check for relatedness amongst elite material.”

How do you think we can improve Gemview in the future for breeders?

“The ability to incorporate R script into Gemview potentially allows for automation of analyses and also provides a long term record of exactly what analyses were undertaken.  With time, this will speed up the testing and selection process and allow for timelier and better decision making. “

 –Note: this is a feature that the Gemnetics team is currently working on for Gemview.

Would you recommend Gemview to other breeders like yourself?

“I would highly recommend the use of Gemview for a wide range of perennial crops where there is an extensive pedigree involved and field trials have been established across multiple sites and years.”